It’s been awhile since I posted a new recipe here on my website, so today, I wanted to share with you a super delish and amazingly easy spinach artichoke dip. And I promise you, it is well worth the wait. I have been wanting to make a healthier spinach artichoke dip for awhile now but just hadn’t had the time or the right occasion to do it. A last minute get together for New Year’s Eve provided me the perfect opportunity to try my hand at lightening up the usually high saturated fat, calorie laden dip, without decreasing its delicious factor.

How did I do this? Well, a lot of spinach artichoke dips contain boatload of cream cheese, mayonnaise, or both, which adds a lot of calories and saturated fat. Not that these ingredients are inherently bad, but when you are shoveling a delicious dip in your mouth, the saturated fat and calories can really add up quickly. So instead of cutting out the cream cheese completely, (cause you gotta have some creaminess factor for your spinach artichoke dip), I used a combination of reduced fat cream cheese, nonfat greek yogurt, and parmesan cheese. I felt that it was the perfect amount. The dip wasn’t too dry (all veggies and no “dip”), nor were the veggies over saturated. It also had great flavor, and no one could taste the yogurt. After I gathered all my ingredients I just mixed them all together in the pan I was going to bake it in (less clean up) and popped it in the oven…. and that is pretty much it!

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it turned out! You can do this by commenting here on my website or snapping a pic and tagging me @delishnnutrish on instagram or on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/delishnnutrish/.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Healthier Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

10 Ounce Box of Frozen Chopped Spinach

9 Ounce Box of Frozen Artichoke Hearts

2 Minced Garlic Cloves

4 Ounces Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, Softened

1/2 Cup Nonfat plain Greek Yogurt

1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Pinch of Salt

Dash of Ground Pepper

Directions

Thaw frozen veggies according to package directions and ensure spinach is drained well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop up artichoke hearts into bite sized pieces. Add everything to a 8×8 glass baking dish and mix well. Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

I love butternut squash in the winter. It’s a nice hearty veggie and there are so many different flavor options. You can go sweet, salty, or even spicy. It is also chock full of nutrients like vitamin a, potassium, and fiber, and is low in calories. Per the USDA, 1 cup of cooked cubed butternut squash has only 82 calories, 6.6g of fiber, and 582mg of potassium.

Anyways, I have been meaning to try making a butternut squash soup for some time but just had not gotten around to it. So, a few weeks ago I was attempting to make my whole grain butternut squash risotto (which you can find here) and it did not turn out exactly as expected. My butternut squash risotto ended up turning into a mushroom risotto because I accidentally fell asleep with the butternut squash in the oven, and it got a bit over cooked…whoops. It was pretty mushy by the time I woke up and both myself and my husband prefer more firm chunky pieces of butternut squash in risotto (he hates mushy foods). So the overcooked butternut squash was transformed into a delicious velvety, smooth, soup. If you saw my facebook live video today about what is in my freezer, you may have seen me pull out a tupperware containing this soup. I am saving some for when I inevitably catch another cold from Baby V.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

2 Cups Cooked and Mashed Butternut Squash

2 Cups Unsalted Vegetable Broth

1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Ginger

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Pinch of Salt

1/4 Cup Apple Juice

Directions

Throw everything in a pot and cook on medium heat until warmed to your liking.

Spaghetti squash is one of those unique vegetables that you can easily transform into a pasta without the use of a spiralizer. With spiralizers being a food trend now (I see zoodle recipes and pins everywhere), you can turn almost any veggie into a pasta. But today we are going old school and using spaghetti squash and a fork to make a veggie noodle “pasta.” So if you didn’t get on the spiralizer band wagon, don’t worry….there is no need with this healthy recipe.

Spaghetti Squash is a winter squash that is low in calories and fat and contains vitamins and minerals such as potassium, vitamin A,vitamin C, vitamin B6, and fiber.It can definitely help you cut calories and lose weight when you use it in place of pasta. For comparison, 1 cup of cooked spaghetti squash has 42 calories and 1 cup of cooked whole grain spaghetti ranges from 180-200 calories. Even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, adding more veggies in your diet is always good for your health!

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Herbs

Ingredients

1 Large Spaghetti Squash

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic

1 Teaspoon Dried Basil

1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley

1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1/8 Teaspoon Sea Salt

1 Tablespoon Champagne Vinegar

Reduced Fat Cheese (if desired)

Directions

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Rinse off squash and use a knife to poke holes in the squash so steam can escape during cooking. Cook in the oven for 1 hour. All squash to cool slightly before cutting open. Cut open, remove seeds and scrape out strands of squash with a fork, set aside. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add garlic, basil, parsley, black pepper and salt. Stir and heat for a minute or two until fragrant. Add squash strands and mix until warm. Finish with champagne vinegar. Serve and top with cheese reduced fat cheese if desired. For extra protein you can add a little chicken or tofu. (Leftover chicken from the night before makes a great topping)

****Recommendation: Cooking the squash in the oven does take some time so you can do this the night before or pop it in as soon as you get home from work and get in a work out during the cook time. Alternatively, the microwave is another faster option for cooking.

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About Me

Hi, my name is Caryn and I am registered dietitian nutritionist in Florida, but an Ohio native. I currently work full time in Miami, am raising a beautiful baby girl with my husband, and am working tirelessly on growing my own business. I love eating healthy but hate overly complicated recipes and doing dishes. Come join me on my journey to a healthy and happy life!